Clothing can say a lot about who you are and what you do. It can scream “LOOK AT ME” or it can whisper “I’m shy but interesting.” Your clothes are a way of letting the world know who you are and what you’re about before you even open your mouth, but there are things that you do not want your clothes to say.
“I’m forty but still trying to be eighteen.” We’ve all seen it and we’ve all had that quiet grimace that works through our spines when we realize what it is. It’s the middle aged woman walking around in wedged sandals, low riders, and a shirt that says “flirt.” Alright, we get it, you feel younger than you are, and that’s fantastic, but your clothes aren’t saying that about you at the moment. All your clothing is saying about you right now is that you are a sad, pathetic shadow of the beauty you once were. Enough all ready. Forty can be beautiful. There’s no two ways about it. Forty can be elegant, tasteful, and downright sexy when done properly. You don’t need those highlights in your hair, if you’ve got a few grays either dye them the same color as the rest of what you have or rock them. Just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean you have to dress like grandma, but it doesn’t mean you should be sharing clothing with your daughter either. The main thing to focus on when you’re trying to pull of the sexy forty look is sophistication. Draw attention to the assets you have now not the ones you had twenty years ago.
“I am not aware of my weight.” Now, this brings to mind bigger people squeezing into spandex biker shorts but that’s not the only way to commit this naughty little sin. If you’re tall, lanky, and all legs don’t wear vertical stripes. I know you’ve heard the stripe no-noes a thousand times but it’s mostly the horizontal ones that get any attention. Yes, we know, that horizontal stripes can make you look wider and should be avoided like the black death by the short and round but even more so, individuals who are tall already (5”11 here) shouldn’t do their best to make themselves look like those guys with the stilts at the circus. Also, look at your pants. If you are squatting and it feels like they’re going to rip at the seams maybe you should go up a size. If you’ve got “dunlap” you should definitely go up at least two. Let me explain what dunlap is the same way my dad explained it to me: “It means when a man or woman’s pants are so tight that their belly “dunlap” over their belt.” It’s not a good thing. Don’t do it.
My last bit of advice is to keep in mind that not everything looks good on everyone. Focus on your curves and don’t make a box out of your body. Just because it looked nice on the mannequin doesn’t mean it’s going to fit your body type, so always look in a full length mirror before you’re willing to buy something. Also, if you can, take a friend (an HONEST friend, one that won’t be afraid to tell you that that dress makes you look like a hippo) with you when you shop for clothes. It never hurts to see yourself from a different perspective.
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